Automobile engine-starter.



11. E. WILSON. AUTOMOBILE ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 24, 1910.

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Patented F6128, 1911.

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AUTOMOBILE ENGINE STARTER. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 24, 1910.

9&5fi19, Patented Feb. 28, 1911.

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. H.'E. WILSON.

AUTOMOBILE ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 24, 1910.

Patented Feb. 28, 1911.

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PATENT FFICE.

HENRY E. WILSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH T RALPH W.MQKINNEY AND ONE-FOURTH. TO'DAVID DEE, BOTH OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMOBILE ENGINE-STARTER Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb.. 28, 1911.

To-all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY E. WILsoN, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing at Chicago, county of'Gook, and'State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile Engine-Starters, of which the following is a specification. v

My invention relates to improvements in automobile engine starters andhas for its object the provision of a simple and etficient mechanism forstarting automobile engines Which eliminates all danger to the operatorfrom premature firing of the engine.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of partshereinafter de-. scribed and claimed.

The invention will be more readily understood by referenceto theaccompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification, -and.in whichI Figure l is a sectional elevation of a portion of an automobileequipped with a start ing mechanism embodying my invention, Fig. 2 is asectional plan view of the mechanism, Fig. 3 is an enlarged partialsection on line w of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is an enlarged partial section online 'y of Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is a section on line .2-2 of Fig. 2, Fig. 6is. an enlarged sectionon line 'vo of Fig. 5, Fig. 7 is an enlargedpartial section on line u-u of Fig.

.2, Fig. 8 1s a section on line ww of Fig. 7

and Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation illustrating a modified form ofstarting lever.

The preferred form of construction as illustrated in the drawingscomprises an or-. dinary engine shaft 1 carrying a fiy wheel 2 thereon.One face of fly wheel 2 is provided with bevel gear teeth 3. A framed isslidably mounted under the body of the automobile and carries acountershaft 5 at right angles to engine shaft 1. Fixed to countershaft5 is a bevel gear 6 adapted to mesh with bevel gear teeth 3 on fly wheel2 when frame 4 is moved to the proper position. Shaft 5 also carries asmall pinion. 7 fixed thereto and a large annular gear 8 having internalratchet teeth 9 on its inner surface. Gear 8 encompasses a hub 10 fixedto shaft 5 and carrying a spring held pawl 11 by means of which rotationof gear 8 relatively to shaft 5 is permitted in one direction butprevented in the other. Gear 8 is held in position on hub 10 by means ofside plates 12 secured to hub 10. Gear 8 meshes with a small pinion 13fixed to a-sleeve 14 which is loosely mounted on a starting shaft 15mounted in frame 4 parallel to shaft 5. At its other end sleeve 14 isprovided with a ratchet wheel 16 encompassed by an annular gear 17 fixedto shaft 15, as shown. Gear 17 carries aseries of radially slidablespring held pawls 18 adapted to contact and coiiperate with the teeth ofratchet wheel 16, as indicated in Fig. 4. Pawls 18 are held in place bymeans of a plate 19 secured to the slde of gear 17. Each of the pawls 18carries a pin 20' projecting through a corresponding radial slot 21' inplate 19. A foot lever 22 is rotatably mounted on sleeve 14 adjacentplate 19 and carries a pawl 23 provided with a spring 24 for normallyholding it out of engagement with pins 20. Lever 22 also carries a lonitudinally slidable push rod '25 having its lower end pivoted to pawl 23and its upper end projecting from the upper end 26 of lever 22. Plate 19carries a radially extendpivoted to the side of foot lever 22 andserving to hold said lever'in operative relation to pins 20. By thisconstruction it will be observed that by. manipulating lever 22 with thefoot, pawl 23'will be thrown outwardly to engage one of the pins 20,thus enabling the rotation of ear 1 by said lever. Gear 17 meshing witpinion 7 serves to rotate bevel gear 6 which, when in mesh with bevelgear 3, serves to rotate engine shaft 1 to start the engine, as will bereadily understood. During this operation should the en gine fireprematurely and thus reverse the direction of rotation of engine shaft 1and consequently of gears 6, 7 and 17, the gear 8 then fixed to shaft 5will rotate 'ear' 13 at a much higher speed than that of gear 17. Thehigher speed of rotation of gear 13 will cause ratchet wheel 16 torotate at a higher speed than gear 17. and thus cause the ratchet teethon ratchet 16 to operate pawls 18 out wardly and radially, thuspreventing engagement with pawl 23 and consequent jar or shock to theoperator. It will be observed .than'there are teeth in ratchet wheel 16so that some of said pawls always rest in the interstices between saidratchet :teeth and thus lace the corresponding pin 20 in posi tion orengagement by pawl 23.

In Fi 9 I have illustrated a modified form of oot lever22' which is madeangular ing flange 27 adapted to engage a shoe 28 that there are agreater number of pawls 18 in form, as shown. This lever carries aspring held pawl 23 exactly similar in operation to pawl 23 abovedescribed and serving to place thegear wheel 17 under the domination offoot lever 22. Foot lever 22 carries push rods 29 and 30 connectedtogether by means of a bell-crank lever 31, the lower end of rod 29being connected with pawl 23 for manipulation of the same as before. Theupper end of push rod 30 pro jects fromthe upper end 32 of foot lever 22and serves to cause pawl 23 to be thrown into operative relation withpins 20 upon manipulation of lever 22 as before. The angular form oflever 22 permits the use of a shorter ,slot' in the bottom of theautomobile.

' ,For the manipulation of frame 4 I provide lugs extending upwardlyfrom the supportingframe 34 suspended from the bottom of the automobileframe. Lugs 33 support a rock shaft 35 carrying links 36 having a slotand pin connection 37 between their lower ends and the sides of frame 4.()ne of the links 36 is provided witlran upwardly extending rock arm 38connected by means of the link 39 with the'lower end of the foot lever40 pivoted in the frame of the automobile, as shown. Footlever 40carries a spring held pafwl41 coiiperating with a rack bar 42 on thebottom of the automobile frame to hold frame 4 in positions to I whichit is advanced by manipulation of said lever 40. Foot'lever 40 carries apush rod 43 connected at its lower end with pawl I 41 and projectingfrom the upper end 44 of foot lever 40. By this construction it will beobserved that by the manipulation of foot lever 40 the frame 4 may beadvanced to cause intermeshing between bevel gears 6 and 3 and held'insuch position by means of pawl 41, and that upon release of pawl 41 A bytouching the end of push rod43 the interaction between bevel gears 3 and6 will cause frame 4 to recede to its inoperative position with gear 6out of mesh with gear 3. Thls furnishes an effluent means for throwingthe starting mechanism into and out of operativev relation.

1 While I have illustrated and described the preferred form ofconstruction for carrying my invention into effect this is capable ofvariation or modification without departmg trom.,the spiritof thenvention. I

therefore do not wish to be limited to the exact details set forth butdesire to avail myself, of such variations and modifications as comewithin the scope of the appended claim as new and desire to secure byLetters claims I Having described my invention what 1 Patent is:

1. In an engine starter, the combination with an engine shaft of acountershaft having a geared connection with said engine shaft; a smallpinion on said countershaft; a large gear having a pawl and ratchetconnection with said countershaft; a starting shaft; a small pinionloosely mounted on said starting'shaft and meshing with said large gearon said countershaft; a large gear loosely mounted on said startingshaft; a starting lever loosely mounted on said starting shaft andhaving a pawl and ratchet connection with the large gear on the startingshaft; and means operable by said small gear on said starting shaft forthrowing said starting lever pawl and ratchet connection out ofoperation upon reverse rotation thereof, substantially as described. -8

In an engine starter, the combination with an engine shaft of a bevelgear fixed to said engine shaft; a countershaft; a bevel gear fixed tosaid countershaft andv meshing with said first mentioned bevel gear; asmall 8 pinion fixed to said countersharf t; a large gear looselymounted on said countershaft;

a pawl and ratchet connection between said large gear and saidcountershaft; a starting shaft parallel with said countershaft; a 9sleeve loosely mounted on said starting shaft; a small pinion fixed tosaid sleeve and meshing with the large gear on the counters haft; aratchet wheel on said sleeve;

a-large gear loosely mounted on said starting 91 shaft-and meshing withthe small gear on the vcountershaft; a series of radiating spring heldpawls slidably mounted on said large gear on said starting shaft andadapted to be operated radially by said ratchet wheel; engagement pinscarried by said radiating pawls; a starting lever loosely mounted onsaid starting shaft; and a' pawl on said starting lever arranged toengage said pins to operate the device, substantially as described. p I

3. In an engine starter, the combination with anfengine shaft of a bevelgear fixed to said engine shaft; a countershaft; a bevel gear fixed tosaid countershaft and meshing 1 gear on said starting shaft and adaptedto 1 be operated radially by said ratchet wheel; engagement pins carriedby said radiating pawls; a starting lever loosely mounted on saidstarting shaft; a pawl on said starting lever arranged to engage saidpins to oper- 1 and said countershaft; a starting 1 ate the device; aspring normally holding said lever pawl from engagement with said pins;and means carried by said lever for throwing its pawl into operativeposition,

substantially as described.

countershaft mounted in said frame; a bevel gear-fixed to saidcountershaft and meshingwith said first-mentioned bevel gear; a smallpinion, fixed to said countershaft; a large gear loosely mounted on saidcountershaft;

a pawl and ratchet connection between said a large gear and saidcountershaft; a starting shaft mounted in said slidable frame parallewith said .countershaft; a' sleeve loosely I mounted on said starting,shaft; a small pinand meshing with ion fixed to said sleeve the largegear on "the 'countershaft a-ratch'et wheel on said sleeve; a large gearloosely mounted on said starting shaft and meshing' with the'smallgea-ron the countershaft; a series of radiating spring held pawlsslidably mounted on said l'a'r e gear on said starting shaft and adapteto be'opei'ated radially by said ratchet wheel;v engagement pins carriedby said radiating pawls; a start ing lever loosely mounted on saidstarting shaft; and a pawl onsaid starting leverarranged toengage saidpins 'to o crate the device, substantially as describe 5. In an enginestarter, the combination with an engine shaft, of a bevel ear fixed tosaid engine shaft; a frame s11dable-toward and away from said engineshaft;

means 'forfl manipulating said frame; a countershaft mounted in saidframe; a bevel gear fixed to said countershaft and meshing with saidfirst mentioned bevel gear; a small pinion fixed to said countershaft; alarge gear loosely mounted on said countershaft; a pawl and ratchetconnection between said large gear and said countershaft; a startingshaft mounted in said slidable frame paralsaid 'countershaft; a sleeveloosely lel with mounted on saidstarting shaft; a small pin ion fixed tosaid sleeve and meshing with the large gear on the countershaft; aratchet wheel' on said sleeve; a large gear loosely mounted onsaidstarting shaft and meshing with the small gear on the countershaft;

a series of radiating spring held pawlsslidably mounted on said lar egear on said starting shaft. andadapte to be operated radially by saidratchet wheel; engagement. pins carried by-said radiatingpawls; astartmglever loosely mounted von said starting shaft; a pawl on said startinglever arranged to engage said pins to operate the device; a springnormally holding said lever pawl from engagement with said pins; andmeans carried by said lever for throwing its pawl into operativeposition, substantially as described, I

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

-HENRY E. WILSON. Witnesses:

HELEN F. LIL-ms, JOSHUA R. H. Porrs.

Copies of this natent may be obtained for five cents each.lay-addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0.

